Atharva Veda 3.29.7: Kanda 3, Anuvaka 3, Sukta 29, Mantra 7
Sukta 29
क इ॒दं कस्मा॑ अदा॒त् कामः॒ कामा॑यादात्। कामो॑ दा॒ता कामः॑ प्रतिग्रही॒ता कामः॑ समु॒द्रमा वि॑वेश । कामे॑न त्वा॒ प्रति॑ गृह्णामि॒ कामै॒तत् ते॑
ká idáṃ kásmai adā́t kāmáḥ kā́māyādāt | kāmó dātā́ kāmáḥ pratigrahītā́ kāmáḥ samudrám ā́ viveśa | kāména tvā práti gṛhṇāmi kāmá etát te ||
Who gave this, and unto whom was it given? Desire gave it, for Desire’s own fulfilment. Desire is the giver, Desire the receiver; Desire hath entered into the Ocean. With Desire I accept thee: O Desire, this is for thee.
ఇది ఎవరు ఇచ్చారు, ఎవరికిచ్చారు? కామం (ఇచ్ఛ)నే—కామసిద్ధికోసం—ఇది ఇచ్చింది. కామమే దాత; కామమే ప్రతిగ్రాహకుడు; కామం సముద్రంలో ప్రవేశించింది. కామంతోనే నేను నిన్ను స్వీకరిస్తున్నాను; ఓ కామా, ఇది నీకే.
The meaning
What it says
A ritual-legal question is posed: who gives and to whom? The answer: Kāma (Desire/Will) gives for Kāma. Kāma is both giver and receiver; Kāma enters the ocean. The speaker accepts the gift ‘with Kāma’: “O Kāma, this is for you.”
The inner meaning
The verse exposes the engine of exchange: intention. By deifying desire, it purifies and authorizes the ambiguous moment of receiving (pratigraha), converting potential guilt/greed into a ritually framed will aligned with plenitude (ocean).
The truth in it
Every transaction is powered by desire; when desire is acknowledged and disciplined, exchange becomes creative and sustaining rather than binding and anxious.
What it is for
- Kind of hymn
- Paustika with strong ritual-juridical function (pratigraha/acceptance); also speculative-theological (Kāma)
Its aim
To authorize and sacralize the act of receiving a gift by declaring Kāma (desire/will) as both donor and recipient, ensuring the exchange yields fulfilled wishes and inexhaustible prosperity.
Word by Word
Pada patha
कः । इ॒दम् । कस्मै॑ । अ॒दा॒त् । कामः॑ । कामा॑य । अ॒दा॒त् । कामः॑ । दा॒ता । कामः॑ । प्र॒ति॒-ग्र॒ही॒ता । कामः॑ । स॒मु॒द्रम् । आ । वि॒वेश । कामे॑न । त्वा॒ । प्रति॑ । गृ॒ह्णा॒मि । काम । ए॒तत् । ते॑ ।
- कः
- who?Pronounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot क (प्रश्नसर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- इदम्
- thisPronounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- कस्मै
- to whom?Pronounपुंलिङ्गः, चतुर्थी, एकवचनम्Role SampradānaRoot क (प्रश्नसर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- अदात्
- gavehas given/gave (completed act of giving)Verbलुङ् (अङ्गीकृत-अनद्यतनभूत), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Root दा (दाने)
- कामः
- Desire; KāmaKāma (Desire as cosmic power; also the donor’s intentionality)Nounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot काम (प्रातिपदिक)
- कामाय
- to Kāma / for desirefor desire, for the sake of desire (to fulfill wish)Nounपुंलिङ्गः, चतुर्थी, एकवचनम्Role SampradānaRoot काम (प्रातिपदिक)
- अदात्
- gaveVerbलुङ्, परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Root दा (दाने)
- कामः
- KāmaNounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot काम (प्रातिपदिक)
- दाता
- giverNoun (agent)पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot दातृ (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √दा + तृच्)
- कामः
- KāmaNounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot काम (प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रतिग्रहीता
- receiver; acceptorreceiver, acceptor (ritually authorized recipient)Noun (agent)पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot प्रतिग्रहीतृ (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; प्रति-√ग्रह् + तृच्)
- कामः
- KāmaNounपुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्Role KartāRoot काम (प्रातिपदिक)
- समुद्रम्
- oceanthe ocean (image of totality; also the ‘all-containing’ goal)Nounपुंलिङ्गः, द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot समुद्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- आ
- towards; intounto, intoIndeclinable (preverb)उपसर्गःRoot आ (उपसर्ग/अव्यय)
- विवेश
- enteredhas entered (pervaded/merged into)Verbलिट् (परोक्शभूत/परफेक्ट), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Root विश् (प्रवेशने) [वि-उपसर्ग]
- कामेन
- by/with Kāma; through desirewith/through Kāma (by desire as instrument and consecration)Nounपुंलिङ्गः, तृतीया, एकवचनम्Role KaraṇaRoot काम (प्रातिपदिक)
- त्वा
- youthee/you (the recipient or the gift-object, contextually)Pronounद्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- प्रति
- towards; in returntoward; in return; as acceptanceIndeclinableअव्ययम्Root प्रति (अव्यय/उपसर्ग)
- गृह्णामि
- I accept; I takeI take/accept (formal acceptance formula)Verbलट् (वर्तमान), परस्मैपदम्, उत्तमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्Root ग्रह् (ग्रहणे)
- काम
- by/with KāmaO Kāma / desire (vocative or appositional force)Nounपुंलिङ्गः, तृतीया, एकवचनम् (वैदिक-रूपम्: तृतीया एकवचनस्य -ā)Role KaraṇaRoot काम (प्रातिपदिक)
- एतत्
- thisPronounनपुंसकलिङ्गः, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचनम्Role KarmaRoot एतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- ते
- to you / for youfor thee/to thee (belonging to you; ‘this is thine’)Pronounचतुर्थी/षष्ठी, एकवचनम्Role SampradānaRoot युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Sandhi Notes
- कः इदम् कस्मै अदात् । कामः कामाय अदात् । कामः दाता कामः प्रतिग्रहीता । कामः समुद्रम् आ विवेश । कामेन त्वा प्रति गृह्णामि कामा एतत् ते । मुख्य-सन्धयः:
- (1) क इदम् → कः इदम् (अः + इ → ओ/विसर्ग-परिवर्तन; संहितायां ‘क इदं’ लेखनम्) ।
- (2) कस्मा अदा॒त् → कस्मै अदात् (वैदिक-पाठे दीर्घ/स्वरचिह्नभेद; दातृक्रियायै चतुर्थी अपेक्षा) ।
- (3) समुद्रम् आ → समुद्रम् आ (सन्धिः न; पदान्त-म् + आद्य-आ) ।
- (4) कामै॒तत् → कामा एतत् (ए + ए → ऐ; वैदिके तृतीया एकवचन ‘कामā’ + ‘एतत्’) ।
Seer, deity and metre
- Rishi
- As per AV anukramaṇī for 3.29.
- Devata
- Kāma (Desire) explicitly; Samudra as cosmological image.
- Chandas
- Mixed prose-like cadence within Anuṣṭubh frame; final pāda functions as performative formula.
- Rasa
- Adbhuta and Shanta
The mantra is construed as a formal ‘acceptance’ (pratigraha) formula: the metaphysical agent is Kāma—both motive and divinized power—thereby purifying the exchange from personal taint. ‘Kāma entered the ocean’ is read as Kāma’s all-pervasion/merging into the totality (samudra = sarva-saṅgraha), implying inexhaustible return. ‘Kāmena tvā prati gṛhṇāmi’ is the operative speech-act of acceptance.
As per AV Śaunaka anukramaṇī for 3.29 (same hymn attribution)
Ritual speech-acts (pratigraha formulas) and speculative-theological personifications (Kāma).
A compact Atharvanic theology of motivation: Kāma is not denied but enthroned, then harnessed to lawful exchange and plenitude.
Kāma (Desire/Willed-fulfilment) with Samudra as cosmic image
Kāma is the initiating impulse behind creation, ritual, and social exchange; by ‘entering the ocean,’ it becomes a circulating, inexhaustible current rather than a private craving.
Psychic integration: naming desire reduces compulsive shadow; can soothe receiving-related guilt or anxiety.
Protects exchange from inauspiciousness (apātra/pratigraha-doṣa) by sacral authorization.
Nominally 4×8, but with prose-like enumerations and performative closure
Mantra shifts into juridical formula in the last segment (‘kāmena… prati gṛhṇāmi’), typical of Atharvanic ritual speech embedded in verse.
Interrogative snap → repetitive anaphora ‘kāmaḥ…’ → sealing cadence at acceptance formula.
Creates authority and legitimacy; repetition installs Kāma as the sole ‘witness’ and ‘owner’ of the exchange.
The recipient (or officiant on his behalf) extends the right hand toward the gift (animal tether, cakes, or water of transfer).
Recite the rhetorical opening (‘Who gave this…’) to frame the exchange as impersonal and ritually grounded.
Recite ‘kāmó dātā…’ while making the acceptance gesture (taking the tether/water).
Utter ‘kāmena tvā prati gṛhṇāmi’ precisely at the physical moment of taking possession.
Conclude ‘kāma etat te’ as a dedicatory sealing, aligning the act with fulfilled desire rather than mere commerce.
Kauśika Sūtra: pratigraha-mantra used at the moment the recipient accepts the dāna in the AV 3.29 gift-rite sequence (edition-dependent numbering).
The Atharvan/Brahman functions as ritual technologist of exchange: he either recites for the recipient or prompts the recipient’s recitation, ensuring the acceptance is ‘pure’ (not greed-driven) by attributing agency to Kāma.
Spoken by the recipient at the moment of formally accepting a gift (especially wealth/animal/food) to sacralize the exchange and avert doṣa.
Exactly at acceptance (hand-to-hand transfer).
If a priest receives dakṣiṇā/dāna, this verse can function as the acceptance seal; otherwise the householder may use it in domestic gifting.
Kauśika Sūtra: pratigraha/dāna sealing formulas associated with AVŚ 3.29 (exact citation varies).
Recited silently when accepting help/support, reframing it as lawful, intentional exchange rather than indebted shame.
Kāma (desire as divinized force); samudra (ocean as totality/inexhaustibility); the gift-object (implicit: sheep/cakes from the preceding verses)
samudra (ocean) as the inexhaustible field of circulation
No herb is needed: the operative ‘substance’ is intention (kāma) and speech (acceptance formula). Ocean imagery turns private desire into a vast, non-scarcity medium where exchange can continue without depletion.
Kāma as a driver of rajas; mantra functions as ‘saṃskāra’ to channel rajas into ordered exchange rather than agitation.
Useful for reframing motivation and reducing shame around need/receiving; parallels acceptance/commitment practices that name desire without fusion.
Recipient/acceptor (pratigrahītṛ), and the gift transaction itself
Authorize the acceptance of a gift and ensure it yields fulfilled wishes and inexhaustible prosperity by installing Kāma as both donor and recipient.
Declarative identity-magic (giver=receiver=Kāma) + oceanic totalization (samudra) + performative acceptance formula (pratigraha).
Inauspicious receipt, social/ritual blame, greed-impurity, broken reciprocity
Wish-fulfilment, stable exchange networks, ongoing abundance
- काम (kāma)
- intentional force that moves giving/receiving; sacralized motivation
- दाता (dātā)
- the outgoing vector of will; agency
- प्रतिग्रहीता (pratigrahītā)
- the incoming vector of will; consent and legitimacy
- समुद्रम् आ विवेश (samudram ā viveśa)
- desire dissolving into totality; inexhaustible field where wishes circulate
- प्रति गृह्णामि (prati gṛhṇāmi)
- juridical/ritual sealing of exchange; speech-act that makes receipt auspicious
Witness desire without denial: ‘Kāma is the mover’—then align it with dharma and generosity.
svadhisthana
Slow exhale emphasis (1:2 ratio) while repeating ‘kāmaḥ’ mentally to cool compulsive grasping.
Imagine desire as a river entering the ocean—personal craving dissolving into vastness; then accept what comes without contraction.
Clear intention (saṅkalpa) with non-attachment.
Before receiving (money, praise, support), pause: name the desire honestly, dedicate it to a wholesome aim, then ‘accept with Kāma’—i.e., with transparent intention.
Let the interrogative opening be slightly lifted, then settle into steady anaphora on ‘kāmaḥ’.
Keep each ‘kāmaḥ’ distinct; do not blur pratigrahītā; pause slightly before ‘kāmena tvā prati gṛhṇāmi’ as the performative seal.
Authoritative yet inward; the final acceptance line should sound like a legal seal.
Most effective when spoken exactly at the acceptance moment; treat it as a ‘contract’ utterance rather than a general hymn.
1 times
Accepting gifts, fees, support, inheritance, or help—especially when mixed feelings arise (guilt, greed, obligation).
At the moment of receiving; silently if in public.
Clarity of intention, reduced shame, a sense of lawful reciprocity; steadier relationship to desire and prosperity.
Not a license for unethical taking; ‘Kāma’ here must be disciplined by social measure (cf. 3.29.5 lokena saṃmitam).
None; the mantra is a speech-act governing transfer/acceptance. Its ‘substance’ is intentionality (kāma) treated as a power that makes the gift efficacious and socially legitimate.
It reveals anxiety around receiving gifts (pratigraha) and the need to ritually sanitize it—suggesting norms about who may accept, under what conditions, and how to avoid the stigma of transactional greed. The mantra elevates exchange into a cosmic principle (Kāma), protecting both donor and recipient within a hierarchical gift economy.
The explicit reflexive theology of Kāma as both giver and receiver is more speculative and self-referential than typical RV gift language. The performative ‘prati gṛhṇāmi’ is juridical-ritual diction characteristic of domestic/legal formulae.
Gopatha tends to ground Atharvanic efficacy in correct speech-acts and intention (saṅkalpa). This mantra exemplifies that: acceptance is efficacious because the formula reassigns agency to a cosmic principle (Kāma), thereby guaranteeing return (samudra imagery) and neutralizing moral risk in pratigraha.
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